Your Sphere of Influence

Whether you realize it or not, you have been given a sphere of influence. In fact, every single person, both the living and the dead, has been given a certain measure of influence.

I know what you may be thinking and it is probably not unlike what I used to think. You may believe that influence is only for really important people. You know what I mean; it's those folks who occupy positions of power and authority. Like maybe politicians, corporate executives, professional athletes, doctors, attorneys, etc. While you are correct that all of these people have influence, you have missed the mark if you believe for a moment that the people who work common jobs, those in the middle and lower classes of society like you and me, do not have influence.

Sure, your and my spheres may not be as large as those of the upper class. But the size of one’s sphere of influence is directly proportional to the wisdom, knowledge and authority one has obtained throughout their life and how willing they are to share it.

Also, remember that the vast majority of those folks with greater influence were not born with that influence. There is typically a lot of hard work in the building of influence. Unfortunately, for most folks, influence is only temporary. They let arrogance and pride seep in and destroy the very thing the Lord God is wanting to use through them. Because, you see, lasting influence is something that comes only from God.

Take a look at the life of Billy Graham. As you may recall, Reverend Graham recently passed away. You would be hard pressed to find very many critics of Billy Graham. Why? Because he remained faithful to the call God had placed on his life and he surrounded himself with great friends and counselors who kept him accountable to that call.

From an early age, Billy Graham knew what he was supposed to do; namely, to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to any and every person he would meet. When he started out, he wasn’t filling convention halls or stadiums. In fact, he barely had a couple dozen folks in attendance at his first several meetings. Also, his sphere of influence was very small.

The reason his sphere grew was because he was simply faithful and consistent. In fact, his sphere of influence grew to where Presidents and Kings of nations called on him to pray for them and give them advice and counsel on major decisions throughout their respective times in authority. Now, that’s what I call influence!

But, you may ask, "How do I know I have influence?" Are you breathing and come in contact with people on a regular basis? If you answered in the affirmative, let me be the first to tell you, "Yes, you have influence!" Again, each and everyone of us do.

There are some things to accept and avoid in life as an influencer. Here are just a few:

Don't mistaken simple attraction with influence. There are a lot of attractive people in the world who think, just because of their looks, they must be influential. You don't have to be the best looking guy or gal around in order to have influence. Influence is much deeper and requires.

Pray and ask the Lord for influence. Like I wrote above, true and lasting influence is a mighty weapon.

Learn from other influencers. The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “bad company corrupts good character.” There are people you need to invest a larger amount of time with than others. And there are people who can tear down your influence because of their character (or lack of). Other influencers can be invaluable throughout your life, including your family, marriage, career, business decisions, etc. Learn from their mistakes and heed Godly advice.

Don't blow your influence. Influence is a lot like trust; when you lose it, it's incredibly difficult to get it back. Made a mistake in judgment? Admit it, ask for forgiveness and begin to rebuild your influence.

Commit to using your influence for God's Kingdom. Once again, true influence can only come from God. You can be much more effective in life when the commitment is for His Kingdom and not your own. When you strive to build influence for selfish gain, your motive will become very apparent to most everyone sooner or later. Trust me; you would rather your motives prove to be to benefit someone else than yourself.

Keep praying! The Lord God created you and wants you to be a mighty tool in His hands. One of the ways is to use your influence. Be a man or woman of great influence!